Shoe Lace Retention Clip

ABSTRACT

A lace-retention unit in the form of a retention clip or plate is configured to maintain retention of a shoe lace. The clip or plate includes a plurality of barbs.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/154,799, titled “Shoe Lace Retention Clip,” to Brad Pelkofer, filed Apr. 30, 2015, the complete disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Laces and lace systems have long been used to secure footwear, such as boots, shoes, skates, etc. onto the feet of the user. A typical boot includes inside and outside flaps (together forming an upper) extending towards the ankle along inside and outside parts of the boot. The upper extends the length of the boot towards a front surface of an ankle portion. Coupled to each of the flaps are a series of eyelets adjacent one another across a space separating the inside flap from the outside flap. Traditionally, a single lace is threaded back and forth through the eyelets on each of the flaps. By pulling on the two free ends of the lace, the space between the two flaps can be reduced, tightening the fit of the boot on the user's foot. Once a desired tightness is reached, the ends of the laces are tied together to hold the boot on the user's foot.

In many applications, it is desirable and/or beneficial to secure a boot snugly to the foot. One example of such an application is an ice skate (e.g. hockey skates, speed skates, figure skates, etc.). With ice skates, a tightly laced and snug fitting boot is a contributory factory in achieving optimal performance and proper support of the ankle. Furthermore, some users may have a personal preference towards a snug fitting boot, regardless of the application.

Often it is similarly desirable and/or beneficial to maintain lace tightness throughout extended periods of use. Over time, the movements of simply skating (or walking) can result in loosening the laces on a skate (or shoe or boot). The repetitive impact of the skate on the ice (or shoe on the ground) resulting in constant jarring and jostling of the tied laces and the pressure exerted on the laces by the foot and ankle as part of the skating (or walking) motion are but two examples of the numerous actions that increase the likelihood of the requisite tension in the laces being lost. This issue is also applicable to any shoe, boot, etc. where the normal activities performed in the boot apply stress to the laces.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to lacing systems and, more particularly, to a retention unit that facilitates lace tightening and retention of lace tightness during use. Illustratively, one aspect of the present disclosure relates to a lace-tightening unit, such as a retention clip wherein the retention clip has a plurality of inward facing barbs located on the inside of a top leg and a bottom leg of the retention clip that is configured to hold the retention clip in place on a typical boot. The retention clip has a plurality of outward facing barbs located on the top leg of the retention clip that are configured to allow a lace to pass over them as the lace is being tightened, but to resist any unintended movement of the laces in the opposite direction.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a lace retention unit in the form of a retention clip is provided that retains the tightness of the laces. According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a lace retention unit is provided that can either be added to an existing pair of boots, skates, etc. or added during the manufacturing process of a pair of boots, skates, etc. without the need for substantial, if any, changes to the current boot or skate manufacturer's assembly line.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a lace retention unit comprises at least one leg comprising an interior surface having a first projecting portion and an exterior surface having a second projecting portion.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, a lace-retention unit comprises at least one leg configured to be attached to footwear and a barb protruding from the at least one leg.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, a lace-retention unit for a footwear comprises a U-shaped clip comprising a first leg having a first length, a second leg having a second length, a bridge connecting the first and second leg, wherein a cavity is defined between the first and second legs and the bridge, a plurality of barbs on the first leg protruding into the cavity, and at least one protrusion on the first leg protruding away from the cavity.

Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the intended advantages of this disclosure will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of standard ice skates;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a lace-retention unit positioned on an upper of the ice skate of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the lace-retention unit of FIG. 2, showing the unit interacting with a skate lace;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternate lace-retention unit;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another alternate lace-retention unit;

FIG. 6 is a top view of another lace-retention unit;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the lace-retention unit of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the lace-retention unit of FIG. 6 showing the unit configured to be positioned on an upper of the skate of FIG. 1.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Although the drawings represent embodiments of various features and components according to the present disclosure, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated in order to better illustrate and explain the present disclosure. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate embodiments of the disclosure, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principals of the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, which are described below. The embodiments disclosed below are not intended to be exhaustive or limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may utilize their teachings. It will be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. The disclosure includes any alterations and further modifications in the illustrative devices and described methods and further applications of the principles of the disclosure which would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates.

Referring to FIG. 1, an ice skate 10 is shown. Skate 10 includes a lower portion 20 with a blade 22 attached to lower portion 20, a tongue 12, and an upper 14 with eyelets 16 provided on upper 14. Laces 18 are used to tighten upper 14 and are arranged in a pattern through eyelets 16. In one embodiment, laces 18 are tied in a crisscross pattern as shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, an exemplary embodiment of a lace-retention unit 100 is shown in the form of a retention clip. When retention clip 100 is applied on a flap or portion of upper 14 of skate 10 (FIG. 1), upper 14 fits between a top leg 108 and a bottom leg 106 of retention clip 100. Retention clip 100 is secured onto upper 14 of skate 10 by a plurality of barbs 102, 110 (FIG. 3). More particularly, barb(s) 102 protrude inwardly from top leg 108 toward bottom leg 106 and barb(s) 110 protrude inwardly from bottom leg 106 toward top leg 108. When retention clip 100 is attached to upper 14 of skate 10, barbs 102, 110 pinch or otherwise couple to upper 14 to provide a tension fit with upper 14. In particular, upper 14 may be positioned within a cavity 112 of retention clip 100 which is defined between legs 106, 108. Retention clip 100 may be an after-market product that can be placed on a wide variety of shoes, boots, etc. and sold independently from the footwear, or, alternatively, retention clip 100 may be incorporated with the footwear during manufacture of the footwear or may be separate from but sold with the footwear.

Referring to FIG. 3, a side view of retention clip 100 interacting with a lace 18 of skate 10 is shown. The illustrative configuration of legs 106, 108 of retention clip 100 may define a U-shape. Another plurality of barbs 104 are positioned on an outer surface of top leg 108 of retention clip 100 and protrude outwardly from top leg 108. Lace 18 is secured to retention clip 100 through barbs 104. Barbs 104 couple with or grip into the fibers of lace 18 which hold lace 18 in place. The orientation of barbs 104 allow for laces 18 to be tightened by dragging lace 18 left according to FIG. 3, and resist lace 18 from loosening by hampering movement to the right in FIG. 3. In one embodiment, lace 18 is weaved through an eyelet 16 and then gripped by barbs 104.

When in use, bottom leg 106 of retention clip 100 is oriented on an inside surface of upper 14. According to the embodiment, bottom leg 106 lacks outwardly protruding barbs 104 so that a smooth surface comes in contact with the boot's tongue or a wearer's foot, rather than a barbed surface, which may create discomfort to the wearer.

Referring to FIG. 4, a second exemplary embodiment of a lace retention unit 200, in the form of a retention clip, is shown. A top leg 208 of retention clip 200 includes a plurality of protrusions 202 and circular barbs 204. Circular barbs 204 protrude outwardly from top leg 208. Protrusion 202 protrudes inwardly from top leg 208 of retention clip 200 towards a bottom leg 206 of retention clip 200. Bottom leg 206 includes at least one protrusion 210 that protrudes inwardly from bottom leg 206 of retention clip 200 towards top leg 208 of retention clip 200. Protrusions 202, 210 can be bent to secure retention clip 200 to upper 14 (FIG. 1).

When retention clip 200 is applied on skate 10 (FIG. 1), protrusions 202, 210 pinch and couple to upper 16 through a tension fit with upper 14. Illustratively, upper 14 is oriented between top leg 208 and bottom leg 206 of retention clip 200 and, more particularly, is oriented in a cavity 112 between legs 206, 208. Lace 18 is secured on retention clip 200 by circular barbs 204. Circular barbs 204 grip into the fibers of lace 18 preventing lace 18 from loosening due to the friction between circular barbs 204 and lace 18 (FIG. 3). In one embodiment, lace 18 is weaved through an eyelet 16 and then attached to circular barbs 204.

Referring to FIG. 5 another exemplary embodiment of a retention unit 300 in the form of a retention clip is shown. Retention clip 300 is U-shaped and has two legs: a top leg 308 and a bottom leg 306. Top and bottom legs 308, 306 have a plurality of respective protrusions 302, 310 for securing to a portion of footwear (e.g., upper 14 of skate 10 (FIG. 1)). When retention clip 300 is applied on skate 10 (FIG. 1), upper 14 fits within a cavity 112 defined between top leg 308 and bottom leg 306 of retention clip 300. Retention clip 300 is secured onto upper 14 of skate 10 (FIG. 1) by protrusions 302, 310. Protrusions 302 protrude inwardly from top leg 308 of retention clip 300 towards bottom leg 306 of retention clip 300. Protrusions 310 protrude inwardly from bottom leg 306 of retention clip 300 towards top leg 308 of retention clip 300. Retention clip 300 has a retention barb 304 for holding lace 18.

When retention clip 300 is attached to upper 14 of skate 10, protrusions 302, 310 pinch and provide a tension fit with upper 14 that is oriented between top leg 308 and bottom leg 306 of retention clip 300. Lace 18 is secured on retention clip 300 by retention barb 304. Rather than a plurality of individual barbs spread across a top leg of a retention unit, retention barb 304 is a singular barb and has a plurality of shaped points 312 on its surface. Retention barb 304 defines an angled portion of top leg 308 and, illustratively, is bent at an approximately 90-degree angle relative to leg 308. The orientation of retention barb 304 allows for lace 18 to be captured and tightened, but does not allow for lace 18 to loosen on its own. In one embodiment, lace 18 is weaved through an eyelet 16 and then attached to barb 304.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate another exemplary embodiment of a retention unit 400 in the form of a retention clip. Retention clip 400 is U-shaped and has two legs: a top leg 408 and a bottom leg 406. Retention clip 400 also has at least one barb 404 and a hole 412. Hole 412 has a similar or the same diameter to that of eyelets 16 to allow for lace 18 (FIG. 1) to pass though both hole 412 and eyelet 16. FIG. 7 shows the orientation of barbs 404. Similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, barb 404 is angled from top leg 408. Barb 404 retains lace 18 by gripping into the fibers of lace 18 to prevent lace 18 from loosening.

As shown in FIG. 8, retention clip 400 is installed on upper 14 of skate 10 such that upper 14 fits within a cavity 112 defined between top leg 408 and bottom leg 406. In this embodiment, bottom leg 406 is not the same length as top leg 408. More particularly, in this embodiment, the length of bottom leg 406 is less than the length of top leg 408. Alternatively, the length of bottom leg 406 may be greater than the length of top leg 408. When retention clip 400 is applied to upper 14, bottom leg 406 acts in conjunction with top leg 408 to clip and secure retention clip 400 onto upper 14. Retention clip 400 and upper 14 are sandwiched between eyelets 16.

An additional embodiment of a retention unit 500 is shown in FIG. 8. In this embodiment, retention unit 500 does not have a bottom leg. Retention unit 500 comprises a single plate 508 with a hole 512 and barbs 504 that protrude outwardly from plate 508. Hole 512 has a similar or the same diameter to eyelet 16 to allow for lace 18 to pass through hole 512 and eyelet 16. Barbs 504 retain lace 18 by gripping into the fibers of lace 18 to prevent movement which could cause lace 18 to loosen. Retention unit 500 may be installed on upper 14 of skate 10 by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). As shown in FIG. 8, retention unit 500 sandwiched between upper 14 and eyelet 16. When eyelet 16 is attached to upper 14, retention unit 500 becomes fixed on upper 14 due to their sandwiched orientation. As shown in FIG. 8, retention units 100, 200, 300, 400 500 may be used alone or in combination with any of other retention units 100, 200, 300, 400, 500.

While this disclosure has been described as having an exemplary design, the present disclosure may be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practices in the art to which this disclosure pertains. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A lace retention unit for footwear, comprising: at least one leg comprising: an interior surface having a first projecting portion; and an exterior surface having a second projecting portion.
 2. The lace retention unit of claim 1, wherein the at least one leg defines a first leg and a second leg coupled to the first leg to define a U-shape.
 3. The lace retention unit of claim 1, wherein the first projecting portion comprises a first protrusion and a second protrusion, the first and second protrusions being substantially parallel to each other.
 4. The lace retention unit of claim 1, wherein the retention unit may be oriented on at least one surface of the footwear to allow the at least one projecting portion to couple with the surface of the footwear.
 5. The lace retention unit of claim 1, further comprising a curved connector coupled to the at least one leg.
 6. The lace retention unit of claim 1, wherein the second projecting portion comprises a plurality of barbs to allow retention of a lace of the footwear.
 7. The lace retention unit of claim 1, wherein the leg may include at least one hole configured to align with an eyelet of the footwear.
 8. A lace-retention unit, comprising: at least one leg configured to be attached to footwear; and a barb protruding from the at least one leg.
 9. The lace-retention unit of claim 8, wherein: the at least one leg comprises a top leg and a bottom leg which are connected with each other and a cavity is defined between the top and bottom legs to surround a portion of the footwear, and each of the top and bottom legs comprises a plurality of inward-protruding barbs configured to couple with the footwear, and at least the top leg comprises a plurality of barbs protruding outward to couple with a lace of the footwear.
 10. The lace-retention unit of claim 9, wherein at least one of the top and bottom legs further comprises a hole configured to align with an eyelet hole of the footwear.
 11. The lace-retention system of claim 10, wherein the hole has a diameter equivalent to a diameter of the eyelet hole of the footwear.
 12. A lace-retention unit for footwear, comprising: a U-shaped clip comprising: a first leg having a first length; a second leg having a second length; a bridge connecting the first and second leg, wherein a cavity is defined between the first and second legs and the bridge; a plurality of barbs on the first leg protruding into the cavity; and at least one protrusion on the first leg protruding away from the cavity.
 13. The lace-retention unit of claim 12, wherein the second leg includes a plurality of barbs protruding into the cavity.
 14. The lace-retention unit of claim 12, wherein the at least one protrusion on the first leg comprises a plurality of barbs.
 15. The lace-retention unit of claim 12, wherein the at least one protrusion on the first leg comprises an angled protrusion further including a plurality of barbs on the protrusion.
 16. The lace-retention unit of claim 12, wherein the second length is shorter than the first length.
 17. The lace-retention unit of claim 12, wherein the first leg includes a hole configured to align with an eyelet hole on the footwear.
 18. The lace-retention unit of claim 12, wherein the first length and second length are the same.
 19. The lace-retention clip of claim 18, wherein the first leg includes a first hole and the second leg includes a second hole, and wherein the first and second holes are equidistant along the legs from the bridge. 